Terminology for dissemination and implementation research

In order for a field to prosper and thrive, a common language is essential. As is often the case when many disciplines and numerous organizations converge in development of a field, dissemination and implementation research is still characterized by inconsistent terminology. While the “state-of-the-art” might still not be advanced enough to resolve all of the existing inconsistencies in terminology, this chapter represents the tremendous amount of development that happened over the past 5 years to create platforms and approaches for a more consistent, agreed upon language for dissemination and implementation research across topic areas, stakeholder groups, and geographical areas. As the dissemination and implementation field makes progress toward a shared terminology, we can expect to see higher quality dissemination and implementation research and greater contribution of dissemination and implementation science to improving public health and clinical practice.